The story of a unique sporting odyssey has now "almost disappeared from living memory" according to Professor Tony Collins, director of the International Centre for Sports History & Culture at De Montfort University.

Former Great Britain international rugby league player Joe Egan died at the age of 93 in November, closing the book on the story of the remarkable Indomitables' post-war tour to Australia and New Zealand.

With the best, thats a good bit of PR, though I would say the Bedford team, theres, like, you know, 13 blokes who can get together at the weekend to have a game together, which doesnt point to expansion of the game. Point, yeah go on!

Read the article, it is superb with lots of fascinating historical content and contains anecdotes featuring Eric Batten and Eddie Waring. It also includes lots of food for thought for those who like to maintain that things were better in the "good old days"

When you read of the difficulties they encountered and the length of the tour coming on the back of a long domestic season and then you read about the Aussies not coming over here this autumn for a three game four nations because of player burnout concerns, it makes me wonder if they were super hard or the present generations are super soft.

Thanks to Colin Thomson, a fan who first visited Odsal in the early Forties, the whole story of that 1946 tour has been well recorded in his book "The Indomitables" and published by London League Publications. www.llpshop.co.uk.

www.geofflee.net for news of my novels, One Winter, One Spring, One Summer, One Autumn and Two Seasons. All are written against a strong Rugby League background, set in South Lancashire and inspired by the old saying about work: "They could write a book about this place. It would be a best seller".

Thanks to Colin Thomson, a fan who first visited Odsal in the early Forties, the whole story of that 1946 tour has been well recorded in his book "The Indomitables" and published by London League Publications. www.llpshop.co.uk.

Well worth putting on your Christmas list.

Between the optimist & the pessimist
The difference is quite droll:
The optimist sees the doughnut,
The pessimist sees the hole.